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this january morning, hailey sat at the dining room table, earphones in, swaying gently to the music. in front of her was a full glass of juice and a plate heaped with bagels.
sandy strolled into the kitchen, patting his stomach. he approached the empty basket that once held the bagels and shot hailey an unimpressed look. she remained blissfully unaware, engrossed in her breakfast and music.
ryan entered next through the sliding door, giving sandy a light pat on the chest as he passed. sandy tipped the basket, hoping for a stray bagel, but found it empty.
ryan moved to the cupboard, retrieved a glass, and opened the fridge to grab the juice carton. he poured it, but only a few drops trickled out. he immediately glared at hailey, who was sipping from her large glass of juice.
sandy, abandoning his quest for bagels, poured himself a cup of coffee as seth and savannah entered the kitchen. seth picked up the newspaper on the counter while savannah silently took a different seat, as hailey had occupied her usual one. seth rifled through the paper, searching for a specific section, and glanced over at hailey, who had it. frustrated, he tossed the rest of the paper down.
kirsten was the last to enter, surveying the scene of the three guys and savannah all glaring at hailey. she joined them, hands on her hips, picking up the empty basket and glaring pointedly at hailey, who remained oblivious, lost in her music.
with exasperated sighs and exchanged looks, sandy, ryan, seth, savannah, and kirsten silently exited the kitchen, leaving hailey in her own world, still swaying to the rhythm.
"she's eating us outta house and home." sandy grumbled, his voice low but filled with frustration.
"sandy, it's just a bagel." kirsten whispered back, trying to reason with him. "no-no-no, it's never just a bagel." the man insisted with a raised brow.
seth let out a dramatic sigh, his voice filled with resignation, "mom, as someone who's basically been a shut in for the last seventeen years of his life, i can pretty much say with great authority," he pointed over at hailey, "that woman never leaves the house."
"she's got nowhere else to go." kirsten pleaded with them, her tone tinged with sympathy.
"that's because all her friends wanna kick her ass," ryan reminded them, grimacing as he realized his wording, "sorry about the language."
"why?" savannah raised a brow, "i'd like to kick her ass." she muttered, earning a nod of agreement from seth. "kirsten." hailey called out from the dining room table, causing the others to roll their eyes.
